Westley Decker Decker 1
Mrs. Robinson
English III
17 November, 2008
Lung Cancer: Little Known Causes of a Feared Disease
The name lung cancer sparks fear in everyone. The sheer magnitude of the disease and the horrors that it creates are enough to make the hardest of criminals cringe. The fact that nearly eighty percent of lung cancer cases diagnosed in America lead to deaths (National), and the fact that even the most gifted of scientists cannot find a cure to the rapidly spreading disease sends chills down doctor’s spines. Smoking is the major cause of lung cancer, followed closely by genetic predisposition (Ravin). There is little that one can do about either of these though, besides quitting smoking, or not smoking at all. Therefore, this paper is not about how to quit smoking, or how genetics can be altered while a child is still in the womb in order to ensure that cancer never takes its life. This paper is about lung cancer, and how, even though its main cause is cigarette smoking, other deadly causes are: radon and uranium exposure, and exposure to asbestos.
Lung cancer is the most prevalent cancer, with over 200,000 new cases each year in America (National). Lung cancer, however, is a very general term for the four different types of cancer that originate in the lungs. The first type is small cell lung cancer. Small cell cancer is named so for the relatively small size of the actual cancer cells (Cancer Research). The cancer spreads rapidly and is found in one of three stages: limited disease, extensive disease, and the recurrent stage (National). Small cell lung cancer is rarely found in the limited stage where is has only invaded one lung and possibly nearby lymph nodes. It is rare to be able to effectively
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treat small cell cancer because it is not often found in the limited stage (Cancer Research). Because the symptoms of lung cancer are so common and there is no periodic test that is covered by insurance, the disease is often found in the more serious, extensive stage. The extensive stage is where the cancer has spread throughout the body to other organs such as the liver or other chest tissues (National). Because of the size of the tumors, and the fact that they are all over the body in the extensive stage, there is little hope of survival. With a life expectancy of less than a year after diagnosis, the outlook is grim for most patients with small cell lung cancer. Without the recommended chemotherapy, a patient ma live less than two weeks with a case of lung cancer in the extensive stage (Cancer Research). Chemotherapy is the treatment for both the extensive and limited stages of lung cancer. The final stage is the recurrent stage, where the cancer has left the body and returned some time later. At this stage there is no hope for the patient, and only clinical drugs are used to help the problem. Chemotherapy is used sparingly in order to lessen the discomfort (National). Usually cancer does not return five years after it has gone away the first time, but lung cancer is a unique case. Lung cancer can resurface at any time, no matter how long it has been since the original cancer subsided (Cancer Research). Small cell lung cancer’s main cause is cigarette smoking. The only way to truly lower your risk is to not smoke. While small cell lung cancer is very scary and can be the more deadly of the two types once diagnosed, it only accounts for about twenty percent of the total lung cancer cases, non small cell lung cancer is the more prevalent of the two types, and a person’s risk can be greatly reduced if a few select things are done (Cancer Research).
Non-small cell lung cancer is just the opposite of small cell lung cancer in that the cells are large in comparison and spread slowly. There are three types of non-small cell lung
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cancer, or NSCLC. The first type is epidermoid carcinoma, which is found in the middle sections of the lung. This type of cancer is related to skin cancer in that the squamous cells that if affects line both the skin and the inner respiratory tract. This cancer along with small cell lung cancer is the main result of smoking. There is very little to be done to prevent epidermoid carcinoma other than to not smoke (National). The second type of NSCLC is adenocarcinoma. This is a cancer that begins in the alveoli and creates mucus in the lungs; it causes massive coughing fits and chest congestion. There are common misdiagnoses with this type of cancer because of the commonality of its symptoms (National). The scariest of the three types of NSCLC and the hardest to find is undifferentiated large cell lung cancer. This type of lung cancer is very similar to small cell cancer in that it can start in any part of the lung and will spread rapidly. Small cell and non-small cell lung cancer are responsible for 200,000 cases a year (National). However, there are ways to not only lower the risk of getting cancer, but ways that if combined with not smoking can nearly prevent the chance of getting lung cancer all together.
The first way that lung cancer can be avoided is to stay away from radon gas and uranium exposure. Radon gas is a gas that is often found in homes and when exposed to it for long periods of time, it can lead to lung cancer. The gas, which is found in rocks and soil, can find its way through the smallest cracks in a house’s foundation and contrary to popular belief is not present only in homes with basements. Radon gas is the number two cause of lung cancer behind only cigarette smoke. And example of a tumor caused by radon gas is shown in figure 1.
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Figure 1 http://www.mycanceronline.com/steps-to-preventing-lung-cancer.html
It causes as many deaths in America from lung cancer as all the other causes, except cigarette smoke, combined (Medicine Net). Radon gas is often found in uranium mines, which in conjunction with uranium dust causes thousands of cases of lung cancer a year (Depleted). In a study done recently on German uranium mining from 1946 to 1954, it was shown that because of poor mining techniques, an increase in uranium dust and the presence of excessive radon levels, there was a vast increase in the number of lung cancer cases among the miners. The number of miners that developed lung cancer was thirty-four percent, over twice the number of non lung cancers among the same people (Mould). Uranium dust is often referred to as depleted uranium, or DU. DU has been shown to be proportionately more deadly than cigarette smoke (Schwarz). Luckily though, DU can only affect the body through inhalation or ingestion (Depleted). The average person has no direct access to uranium so there are really no worries about it unless a person works in an area where exposure is common. Uranium and radon gas are not the only
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deadly causes of lung cancer. Asbestos, a well-known silicate fiber can cause cancer as well. Asbestos is a fine silicate fiber found commonly in building materials. It is used in insulation and fire retardants and can lead to many types of lung diseases. When inhaled, asbestos fibers get into the lungs and stay for long periods of time. IF the fibers stay long enough, diseases such as pneumonia or lung cancer can arise. The only ways to be exposed to asbestos is work in construction, or other interactions with an area under construction. Asbestos cannot be obtained through regular use of a building (U.S.). Exposure to asbestos is the second most virulent cause of lung cancer behind only smoking. Asbestos causes a person’s risk of cancer to go up seven times, combined with cigarette smoke, a person is ninety percent more likely to develop lung cancer than a normal person. There are some easy ways to avoid exposure to asbestos. A child should never attend a school with remodeling or building projects going on. This greatly increases the likelihood of being exposed to asbestos. With a child’s weak lungs this could result in not just cancer, but very serious pulmonary diseases as well. Older building materials that contain asbestos are encountered in many remodeling jobs. Luckily, in the 1970’s, the EPA passed a law greatly restricting the amount of asbestos used in building materials (National). This has reduced the number of cancer cases caused by asbestos. It seems that some causes of cancer are easily avoidable for the most part, yet there are still over 200,000 cases in America each year (National). What happens after a person has gotten lung cancer? Do they just become another statistic, or is there something more involved?
The consequences of lung cancer are extreme. With over $72 billion being spent on treatment and trying to find cures of lung cancer in the United States (Cancer Trends), and $9.6 of that being paid by cancer patients, lung cancer is one of the most expensive cancers in the
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states (CDC). Money is the main issue for most lung cancer patients, especially ones who must travel long distances to a cancer facility. In my experience with lung cancer, however, the biggest issue was the emotional stress that it put on the family. When my Grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer, the family was torn apart: brothers fighting each other and father and son battling for interminable weeks. After treatment for lung cancer begins, patients become bedridden. This puts a great time stress on the relatives because somebody must both feed and take care of the patient, or the patient must be put into a nursing home. When a patient can move around, however, he or she must do all that is possible to stay active and to eat right (Rita). From all of the stress that lung cancer imparts on the patient and family alike, the lifespan could be shortened even more if the situation in handled incorrectly. If the stress is handled properly, the cancer could go away quickly and the patient could make a quick recovery.
Avoiding the causes mentioned in this paper could decrease the likelihood of you getting cancer to a great degree. This is if you do not smoke. Cigarette smoke is by far the biggest cause of lung cancer and is also the easiest to avoid. By stamping out smoking, the number of lung cancer cases, as well as related heart disease and emphysema cases, would drop a great deal, and with this the world would be better off (Ravin). By avoiding the causes mentioned in this paper, however, a person greatly reduces his or her risk of obtaining lung cancer and will better his or her life as well.
